


baby hotline (please hold me close to you)

by rowansberry (amarowan)



Series: if you love me, don't let go [1]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Gorgug-centric, M/M, Rated teen for language, but like times five, gorgug gets his kisses in, spoilers for S1 E16 and S2 E10, that's pretty much it that's the whole fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amarowan/pseuds/rowansberry
Summary: a collection of gorgug's first kisses, with the four people he comes to cherish the most.ORin which gorgug gets his kisses in, a lot, and receives the affection we all know he deserves.
Relationships: Fabian Aramais Seacaster/Gorgug Thistlespring, Ragh Barkrock/Gorgug Thistlespring, Ragh Barkrock/Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring/Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster, Riz Gukgak/Gorgug Thistlespring, Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring
Series: if you love me, don't let go [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773100
Comments: 37
Kudos: 173





	baby hotline (please hold me close to you)

**Author's Note:**

> title from baby hotline by jack stauber

Gorgug’s first kiss is Ragh.

(Technically speaking, it’s Kristen, and then Zelda’s dad, in that order, but Gorgug doesn’t count those. Those are both times where he _got_ kissed. Ragh is the first time that _he’s_ kissed someone first.) 

It’s almost comical, the roaring red dragon in the background and Penelope shooting spells towards Gorgug’s friends as he looks over at Ragh. He definitely hadn’t expected prom to go like this, that’s for sure.

Gorgug can’t help but take in the sight of Ragh here, in the dim dance lights of the gym — he’s strong, Gorgug knows that, and his broad shoulders and big frame fill out the dark red suit he’s wearing really well. He looks— he looks really handsome, Gorgug can’t deny it, even through the haze of a battle half-fought. Gorgug doesn’t feel small, often, but when he’s near Ragh he doesn’t feel he has to ever worry about being too big or too much.

Their eyes meet, and Gorgug notices the bruising around one of Ragh’s eyes, skin purpled and blackened, his own eye twinging in pain at the sight. “Ragh,” he says, yelling over the sounds of Kalvaxus looming behind them and Fig’s bass. “I’m sorry that we killed your friend, but he was kind of a jerk to you.”

Ragh sniffles, tears escaping his glossy black eyes. “No, dude! Dayne was the best, man!” And it’s clear, through the hurt in Ragh’s face, that he really admired and cared for Dayne, but knowing the kind of person Dayne was, Gorgug has a sinking suspicion that he needs to confirm.

“Where’d you get that black eye?”

“I went and told him, because Jawbone said to talk about your feelings, and I talked about my feelings,” Ragh says, all his words rushed and leaving him in a flurry, “and he socked me in the face and he said that he wouldn’t tell anybody so I could stay on the Owlbears.” A flash of rage fills Gorgug, hot and fiery and strong, and even though Dayne’s already dead Gorgug wants Kristen to revive him so he can kill him again. 

“But he socked you in the face, right? He can’t be that great.” It takes all of Gorgug’s willpower to control his voice, to not let Ragh see any of the rage flowing below the surface of his skin. Looking at Ragh’s black eye, at the physical proof that Dayne didn’t think that Ragh, big and strong and _sweet_ and _genuine_ Ragh is good enough as just who he is, makes Gorgug’s blood boil any more than Kalvaxus ever has. Ragh deserves _better_.

Another tear escapes Ragh’s eyes, voice softer and almost wistful as he says, “I loved Dayne.”

(Kristen yells from thirty feet away, “Called it!” and Adaine immediately glares at her, but the look of genuine joy and warmth on Kristen’s face can’t be ignored.)

“There’s other Daynes out there,” Gorgug says, and some part of him resolves to make sure that Ragh ends up with someone deserving of his beautiful, loving personality and nature. 

The tears start to flow faster, and Ragh continues, “No, but he said I’m just an idiot and I’m ugly and no one’s ever gonna like me—”

Gorgug reaches up and grabs Ragh’s face, pulling him down and pressing their lips together. Somewhere in his head Gorgug registers that this is his third kiss ever, and now he’s kissed two guys and one girl and one of those girls was a lesbian and for someone kinda sorta dating a girl that’s a lot of guys to kiss but that’s okay. The kiss is short, but soft. It feels… it feels right, the way they slot together and Ragh’s shocked face morphs into one of joy, grabbing at the lapels of Gorgug’s suit to deepen the kiss before they both pull away.

Ragh’s got an expression on his face that Gorgug hasn’t seen before. _Tender_ is the only word he can think of to describe it. A tear trickles slowly down his cheek, and Gorgug wipes it away with his thumb on a reflex. “Wow,” he says softly, eyes almost sparkling in the dim light, “I got kissed at prom.”

There’s a grin on Gorgug’s face and he can’t remember how it got there, but he extends a hand and says, “Hey Ragh — wanna help me fight this dragon?”

Ragh grabs his hand, and they rush towards Kalvaxus, weapons raised and battle cries ringing out loud throughout the gymnasium. 

+

The second notable first kiss of Gorgug’s life is with Zelda.

It’s kind of funny, how they’ve gone on dates — several, for that matter — and went through the whole ordeal of her getting trapped in a palimpsest and Gorgug even met her fricking dad — who kissed him, he’s still not sure how he feels about that — and they still haven’t had their first kiss. 

They’re at Basrar’s again, because it’s summer and nothing fits better with a sunset than a melting bowl of ice cream, and they’re sitting in a sticky vinyl booth, both of them in hoodies despite the heat. Gorgug knows, without Zelda having to say anything, that they’re both used to wearing their hoodies no matter the weather, a safety blanket and an escape all in one. (Then he remembers how Zelda said that him throwing Ragh down the hallway was hot, and it is summer after all, and he takes off his sweater and now he’s just in a dark t-shirt painted with the logo of one of the bands Zelda introduced him to. The way Zelda’s gaze trails from his face to his arms to the logo on his chest before shifting quickly back to her ice cream, a blush rising to her cheeks, doesn’t escape him.)

Gorgug picks up the earbud he dropped while taking off his sweater, pushing it back into his ear and letting the pulsing bass and pounding drums and yelled out lyrics flow through him. Zelda’s playlist, the one she left for him during freshman year, is what Gorgug listens to most of the time now, and the songs sound even sweeter when they’re shared like this, earbud cord dangling in the space between them. His ice cream is mostly melted at this point, but he takes another bite anyways — vanilla, nothing wrong with a classic — and the sun hits his face, golden and warm, and it’s really, really nice. 

The music pauses abruptly, and Gorgug turns to Zelda, confusion furrowing his brows. “Um, like,” Zelda says, “this is really stupid, but, um, I wanted to try something.”

She isn’t looking at Gorgug at all, but there’s red in her cheeks and her hair is covering her eyes again, so sparkling and beautiful, and Gorgug can’t help but reach out and tuck the hair behind her ear, hand lingering a bit as her eyes lock with his and her cheeks redden even more. “Okay,” Gorgug says.

Zelda reaches out, a hand going to hold Gorgug’s face softly, gently, and pulls his face down, and their lips meet, a kiss long overdue. She tastes like ice cream, chocolate to Gorgug’s vanilla, sweet and subtle and euphoria shoots through each of Gorgug’s limbs, filling his veins so thoroughly he’s sure he’s glowing. 

They pull apart, and it takes all of Gorgug’s willpower to not dive in for another kiss. “That— that was okay, right?” Zelda asks, and her voice is just above a whisper, her cheeks redder than the maraschino cherries on their ice creams, but she keeps her gaze locked with Gorgug’s, eyes warm and alight with incredible fondness. 

“More than okay,” Gorgug tells her, and they share another kiss, somehow even sweeter than the first. 

“Hey, um, Gorgug,” she says when they pull apart, and her fingers are worrying the hem of her sweater again, worn from consistent fiddling and fraying, so Gorgug grabs her hands and holds them tight, and his hands are really big but that just makes them better at holding, “do you— can we, like, date? Exclusively? And you can, um, I can call you my boyfriend?”

Gorgug can’t stop the grin that spreads across his face, wide and shining brighter than the sun behind them, golden light streaming through the window and lighting up the warm browns and ambers in Zelda’s eyes. “Yeah, that’s — I’d like that a lot, that would be really good, um—”

His lips are captured again by Zelda’s before he can continue, and this kiss is a little deeper, burning a little brighter, and Gorgug remembers something Porter told them in barbarian class, that their rage is just another form of the passion they all have, and part of him wants to see how bright that fire in Zelda can burn. 

But for now? She tastes like ice cream and the light of the slowly setting sun is warm on Gorgug’s back, and he’s light with euphoria, and it’s everything Gorgug could want. 

+

“So this— it’s normal?”

Jawbone’s mouth quirks into a half-grin, eyes softening. “Yeah, kiddo, absolutely. As long as it’s healthy, and you communicate with anyone involved so we’ve got consent from all parties, there’s no reason this can’t be a good thing for you, y’know?”

Gorgug nods, heart rate slowing as what Jawbone said begins to fully sink in. “Okay. That, um — that helps. A lot.” He stands up from the couch in Jawbone’s office, hefting his backpack onto his shoulders. “I’m going to go talk to Zelda, I think,” he says, and Jawbone nods.

“You’re a good kid, Gorgug,” he says, and he claps Gorgug on the shoulders before letting him walk out. It’s a bit jarring to Gorgug still, the way that Jawbone can so easily accept the parts of him he still struggles to come to terms with, but he’s working on it. Bit by bit.

Zelda is in the hall by their lockers, minutes after the final bell has rung, and Gorgug gives her a small ‘hey,’ that she returns, a kiss on the top of the head that she reciprocates with a peck on the cheek. “I need to talk to you about something,” he tells her, and as the worry flashes over her face he says, “Nothing bad! I just— I talked to Jawbone about some stuff, and he said that communication is important, and I, um, want to make sure that I’m being good at that.”

There’s a spot in the bleachers, at the top left on the set farthest down the field, that no one ever sits in, partially because it’s somehow always in the shade of this massive oak tree, and partially because the stoners hang out underneath half of the week, but Gorgug likes the solitude, and he knows that Zelda does too. (They come here a lot, and sit together and listen to music and sometimes they do homework together. On the days that there’s Owlbears practice Zelda will sit alone, and Gorgug will always catch her eye during practice and meet her after to walk home.)

“Jawbone was telling me about polyamory,” is what Gorgug starts the conversation with, and Zelda doesn’t run away or start yelling at him, so that’s a good sign. 

“I know a bit about, um, stuff like that,” Zelda says, and she’s fiddling with the hem of her hoodie again, and Gorgug just puts out a hand, heart filling with warmth as her hand slips away from the faded fabric and into his palm, rubbing small circles into the side of his hand with her thumb. “My parents, obviously, aren’t like that, but my uncle has a lot of lovers, and he visits sometimes.”

“Oh, that’s really cool.”

“Yeah, like, sometimes if I mention it people are like, what, that’s weird, but, um, the god of wine and ecstasy actually kinda likes it, so—”

“I think I like Ragh,” Gorgug says, and it’s been sitting on his tongue for so long that the feeling of relief he gets from finally saying it is palpable. The relief is quickly replaced with fear, apprehension pulling his shoulders in tight and tense as he waits for Zelda to respond.

Her face stays neutral, and she says, “Oh, okay, cool.”

Gorgug blinks, disbelieving but relieved. “Cool? It’s— that’s cool? You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, it’s really more than fine.” A soft smile bloomed on Zelda’s face, and she squeezed Gorgug’s hand, smile widening when Gorgug squeezed back. “And like, if Ragh is, um, okay with it too, I think we could try, maybe, where you date us both? If that’s something you want, obviously.”

“That would be—” and Gorgug thinks about it, (although, he’s already been thinking about it, enough that he went to go see Jawbone,) thinks about holding a hand that’s bigger than his, rougher, thinks about kissing someone with stubble where Zelda has smooth skin, thinks about how he’s tall but Ragh is taller, and for once he could feel small, and he says, “ — that would be really nice.”

It’s a few days later when Gorgug finally feels ready to tell Ragh, and waits for a day where they have Owlbears practice, when Zelda is waiting in the corner of the bleachers for Gorgug to finish practice and walk home together with her. “Ragh,” he says, after they’ve all come down off the adrenaline of a good practice, full of soreness and exhaustion in the best kind of way, “can I talk to you for a second? In the bleachers?”

“Yeah, sure thing, dude,” Ragh says, and they walk over together, a tension growing that Gorgug can’t ignore. They’re sitting at the bottom, close enough that Zelda can hear but far enough that they have privacy, and Gorgug takes comfort in knowing that Zelda is there and supporting him. (Really, she’s more than he deserves, and he wouldn’t trade the world for her.)

“Remember when we kissed at prom?” is what Gorgug leads with, because. Well. It just feels relevant. 

“Do I ever,” Ragh says. “That was the first kiss I ever had that _mattered_ , bro, and at prom too?”

“Um. Okay. Would you want to kiss again?”

Ragh’s smart, and Gorgug knows better than anyone to never underestimate _anyone’s_ intelligence, but it still surprises him when Ragh says, “Don’t you have a girlfriend, dude?”

Gorgug nods, and he wishes he was wearing his hoodie instead of the stupid standard issue gym clothes they all wore for practice, so he could hide in the yards of dark fabric and become smaller. “But there’s this thing, Jawbone told me about it, it’s called polyamory, and it’s like — more than two people can date at a time, and, well, I haven’t forgotten about that kiss at prom at _all_ and if you’re okay with it, then, well—”

“If you talked to Zelda about it…” Ragh starts. He pauses, and Gorgug knows he’s thinking, and they sit in silence for a moment or two before he continues, (and Gorgug doesn’t fault him for needing to pause, thoughts are hard to get in order sometimes,) “I think about you a lot, Gorgug, the same way I would think about Dayne, and I think if we kissed again that could be pretty awesome.”

“Then can I— ?”

Ragh nods.

It’s different from Zelda, but familiar nonetheless — Ragh’s strong jaw, the way he’s just so much bigger than Gorgug and dominates the kiss, the scratch of stubble against his cheek in a way that Gorgug likes more than he thought he would. Gorgug likes it a lot, and from the smile on Ragh’s face when they pull apart he did too. 

(Ragh walks home with them, for the first time, and it’s a bit strange because it’s so new, but Gorgug can already tell that he’d like this to become his new normal. Two people, two loves, different and the same. Gorgug has a lot of love to give, and Zelda and Ragh give him more than enough love to receive.)

It’s his second kiss with Ragh, technically, but in Gorgug’s head it counts as a first kiss. A first kiss, but again; a do-over; a second chance; and the start of something new. 

+

Gorgug is a lot more open, after he and Ragh become official. (He’s pretty proud of that, how he’s working to overcome the communication barriers that have been instilled in him from so many years of being scared to be who he is, being scared to show the parts of him that are loud and angry as well as the parts that are smaller and quieter.) And he talks with Ragh and Zelda a lot, and they all know that they’re okay with the others pursuing another relationship if they want, as long as they all communicate, and Gorgug really has to thank Jawbone for making any of this possible in the first place. 

And when he starts noticing Riz more, the earnestness and passion that he talks about mysteries and clues with, and his mesmerizing eyes, so bright and honest, and how he’s somehow larger than life and so incredibly tiny at the same time, Ragh and Zelda are always more than happy to hear about this new, blossoming affection. It’s nice to know that he’s allowed to feel this way.

The Bad Kids always come to the Bloodrush games — how can they not, when Fabian and Gorgug and Ragh are all on the team — and it always fills Gorgug with another rush of adrenaline, seeing Zelda and Riz and Adaine and Kristen and Tracker and Fig in the bleachers, knowing that they’ll always have someone cheering, someone giving them their support. 

The timer’s counting down, closer and closer to 0, and the referee’s whistle blows, and Gorgug knows this will be the final play. It’s all a blur, moving bodies and sweat and aching muscles being pushed one last time, and Gorgug catches the ball and runs, runs, _runs,_ and the final buzzer sounds as he slams the ball into the goal. 

69-67. They win.

It all hits Gorgug at once. Roaring cheers from the bleachers around them, Ragh and Fabian right at his sides, huge grins on their faces as they scream with joy and elation and probably a healthy dose of adrenaline, and at some point between all the yelling and the cheering and the celebrating Ragh picks up Gorgug, parading him around with Fabian and congratulating him again and again for the final points, and Gorgug couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried. Riz is there, at some point, scrambling up Ragh like he’s a tree and climbing onto Gorgug’s shoulders, and it’s crazy to Gorgug that such a simple act of affection can make him alight like a log in a bonfire. 

It’s tradition, to go to Basrar’s once they’ve showered off and changed, all three of them collapsing into an exhausted but satisfied mess in a booth and filling themselves with cold, sweet ice cream. They fill the ice cream shoppe with boisterous laughter, with inside jokes and Fabian’s dramatic retelling of the highlights. It all feels warm, like home, like a swaddled blanket that Gorgug never wants to leave. 

Like a fine-tuned machine, they find themselves piling into Gorgug’s van, Fabian riding nearby on the Hangman with Riz (he’s the only one the Hangman will let anywhere near its leather seat) and end up at Seacaster Manor, still high on adrenaline in the quick-fading twilight. 

Gorgug’s favourite time post-game is when everyone gathers on the floor of Fabian’s room together, a nest of blankets and pillows, a comfortable, weighted silence filling the room, slowly watching as everyone drifts off to sleep. Normally he’s one of the first to pass out, (it helps that Ragh is warm enough to count as a personal space heater and Zelda is the perfect size to spoon,) but today he watches, the room bathed in silvery moonlight, as one by one they all succumb to the heavy veil of sleep. 

(He learns something new about Riz that night, that his eyes glow in the dark, emanating a faint yellowy light that’s so clear in the dark shrouding them. Gorgug thinks it’s beautiful.)

“Hey, Riz,” he whispers, and those alert yellow eyes turn to him. “Do you want to sneak out to the pool?”

He blinks, and even though Gorgug can see the outline of the rest of Riz, the curls of his hair now that they’re free of the prison of a hat Riz insists on wearing, the soft flannel pants and ratty t-shirt he wears to bed, those captivating eyes are all Gorgug wants to look at. “Why the pool?” Riz whispers back.

“Pools at night are nice, I don’t know.”

“Sure, why not.”

Gorgug spends the next fifteen minutes carefully extricating himself from Ragh and Zelda, (Zelda’s got a death grip around his torso, and Ragh’s head was resting on his thigh, but he somehow manages to free himself without waking up either of them) and Riz finds it hilarious, stifling his laughter from the side of Fabian’s room as Gorgug performs this elaborate dance to keep his significant others asleep.

Riz slips down to the pool, but Gorgug lingers behind, slipping on his hoodie and, after much internal deliberation, grabs his letterman jacket. (Riz is wearing a t-shirt, and it gets chilly at night, and Gorgug would offer his body heat but he’s not sure of how well that would go over, so an extra jacket is a good compromise.) 

The water of the Seacaster pool is still but for a few ripples, reflecting the moon and the stars above. Riz is already sitting at the edge, pants rolled up and feet dipped into the pool, breaking the still surface. Gorgug sets his jacket down beside him, rolling up his own pants before sliding his legs into the cool water, a breath of fresh air from the warm bodies they left upstairs. 

They sit in silence for a bit, the soft whistling of the wind and the way it rushes through the leaves of the weeping willow nearby a background track to the whirling thoughts in Gorgug’s head. Should he tell him now? No, but they all have to eat together tomorrow morning for breakfast, it’s tradition, and if this goes badly Gorgug doesn’t want there to be any tension because Fig can smell it like a bloodhound, and she’ll just figure out a way to push their buttons until things get even more awkward.

He looks over at Riz, and — the moonlight paints him in swaths of silver, a lock of hair twisting and curling down the side of his face. (Gorgug’s told this to Ragh and Zelda so many times, how much he likes Riz’s hair and how he loves the way Riz looks without his newsboy cap, hair so beautifully curly and soft-looking.) His gaze travels to his arms, bare aside from the sleeves of the t-shirt, and Gorgug can see it from here, the gooseflesh rising on his skin, and he’s glad he decided to bring an extra jacket. 

“Here,” he says, passing it over to Riz, the fabric soft in his hands. Riz looks at it, unfolds it, and lets out a sort of choked half-laugh. 

“Gorgug, you’re — this’ll drown me!”

Gorgug shrugs. “Yeah, but you’re cold.”

He can see it, the way that Riz battles with himself internally before slipping on the jacket, loose fabric pooling around him and his arms only reaching halfway down the sleeves. It’s a bit jarring, to see Riz looking so small — Riz makes a point of ensuring he’s seen, that he takes up just as much space as those physically larger than him, and comes off taller than he is a lot of the time because of those efforts. But here, in the soft moonlight with rippling reflections pooling around their ankles, Riz allows himself to be small, and Gorgug wants to pick him up and hold him. 

Riz asks him, “I look stupid, don’t I,” and Gorgug realizes he’s been staring.

“No, you, uh— it’s cute. You look good.”

He frowns, lifting up a hand and visibly scowling at the extra fabric flopping down beyond where his hand reaches. “You’re sure? This looks pretty dumb to me.”

“You always look good,” Gorgug says, and it slips out before he can stop himself, inhibitions lowered by the tranquility of the pool and the darkness covering them like a blanket, eyes widening when he realizes what he said and staring very intently at a leaf that landed on the pool’s surface. _Fuck fuck he knows this isn’t how I wanted this to go at all—_

Gorgug doesn’t need to look over to know that Riz’s eyes are trained on him, but he does anyways, those yellow eyes still glowing, pupils dilating. “Gorgug,” Riz says, and every emotion runs through him at once, “do you— like me?”

His voice isn’t accusing — the farthest thing from it. Nervous, almost, and disbelieving, and a few more layers Gorgug doesn’t fully trust himself to identify. (He’s never been known for having great insight.) “Uh, I mean. Yes?”

Now Riz is the one looking down at the surface of the pool, kicking his feet around and watching as the ripples travel towards the far side. The moonlight makes it easier to catch the soft blush rising in his cheeks. “I didn’t think that’d ever happen,” he mumbles, under his breath but just loud enough for Gorgug to catch it, and Gorgug moves his hand over a couple of inches, his larger palm completely covering Riz’s. 

“Why not?”  
“I mean, you’ve already got Ragh and Zelda,” Riz says, and from the shift in the tone of his voice it’s clear this isn’t the first time he’s voiced these thoughts. “And you’re on the Owlbears now, you’re pretty cool, and I’m still—” He cuts himself off, voice getting quiet. “I’m still not.”

Gorgug waits, until Riz looks over and Gorgug can stare into those glowing eyes, so fascinating and beautiful. “You’re cool,” Gorgug says. “I think you’re one of the coolest people in the school, actually.”

There’s another silence, but there isn’t as much tension as before, and Gorgug’s grateful for that, at the very least. Riz stands up, the letterman jacket fully hanging off his frame, hem reaching past his knees, and when he’s standing like this and Gorgug is still sitting poolside he’s taller. “Can I kiss you?” Riz asks, and Gorgug nods.

It’s soft, and sweet, but it’s filled with understanding. Different from the other first kisses Gorgug’s had, mostly because Riz is so small, even compared to Zelda, but also because of how he and Riz have gone through so much together that Ragh and Zelda were on the outside for. There’s a different level of understanding and knowing there, and while Gorgug hates feeling seen he doesn't mind nearly so much if Riz is the one looking. They pull away, and it’s just the silence and the moonlight and gazes that go into each other’s souls. 

The next morning, Riz walks into the dining hall of Secaster Manor wearing Gorgug’s letterman jacket. (The Bad Kids all know. Kristen has taught them enough about the subtle art of yearning and resolution for them to all understand what must have happened last night.) 

+

It’s a bit disconcerting for Gorgug, to see Fabian so down for so long. (Fabian’s always been the one with the bravado and the bluster, stories told in booming voices and dashing fairytale grins.) He’s tried, a lot, to help Fabian and give him back that same power that’s fought alongside Gorgug, striking down enemies near-effortlessly. But no matter how many times he’ll present Fabian with the sword of the Seacasters, Gorgug knows that self-confidence can only be started from within, and it’s too easy to deny the praise and support of others when you don’t feel worthy of it. 

But Adaine is in danger, and they have a job to do. Taking out this pylon means they can cut the protection on Calethriel tower, and the girls will have an easier time getting Adaine out. 

Riz figures it out first, that they need to knock over the pitchers to deactivate whatever magic they’ve got going on in here, but there’s a trap related to the brasiers. Between Riz’s smooth assessment of the pylon (“Something I picked up in rogue class, we did a couple lessons on tomb raiding and traps at some point,” he says) and Gorgug and Fabian knowing what’s heading their way, they can smoothly take out two of the elementals.

(Gorgug doesn’t miss the way that Fabian’s hesitant to unsheathe the sword of the Seacasters, or the way he puts away the sword in favour of the elven sheet and focuses on putting out flames instead of fighting, instead of gaining the same glory he would have lusted after not even a week ago.)

They’re all covered in soot and singed, battered and burned, and Riz has fully taken off his vest and shirt to combat the pure heat in the room, rippling off the elementals in waves. (Gorgug would be lying if he said he wasn’t taking the opportunity to look at Riz’s bare arms, and the lithe strength of his torso behind that tank top.) There’s one pitcher left, one giant silvery brasier in a corner of this hexagonal room, and Fabian rushes over before Riz can even shoot the pitcher, an audible ‘click’ sounding throughout the room as Fabian hits a trigger in the floor, the brasier alighting, the final elemental appearing in a whirl of flame. Before Gorgug can even swing his axe, Fabian’s whipped out the silvery elven sheet, and it wraps around the elemental, pulling it into Fabian’s embrace. Gorgug can see it, the way fire burns skin and sets clothing alight as Fabian… _tangoes_ with this elemental, taking every burning inch of skin and giving it a mile more. 

(He looks over at Riz, and he’s known that Riz has a crush on Fabian for a while now, and honestly, it’s something they’ve bonded over, and he’s both surprised and not when he sees a tear slowly make its way down Riz’s cheek. “It’s so beautiful,” Riz murmurs, and Gorgug can’t help but agree, the give and take of the dance combined with the flickering shadows thrown up against all six walls of the pylon from the golden-orange glow of the elemental creating a truly breathtaking sight.)

Fabian swings the elemental into a truly astoundingly deep dip, his characteristic grace and poise that had been missing for much too long outlined in every sure movement of his limbs. The elemental shares a kiss with Fabian, sweet and soft despite its fiery nature — and it’s a bit odd for Gorgug, realizing that’s probably Fabian’s second kiss, ever, seeing as his first was with Aelwyn and he hasn’t been with anyone since that party — and after a moment it disappears, a fiery mote flickering against Fabian’s lips before disappearing into his throat, its golden glow still visible as it travels downwards and rests in his chest. 

“Holy shit…” Riz breathes out, and Fabian looks towards them, disbelief and shock and excitement all over his face. 

“Did you— you guys fucking saw that, right?” Fabian asks, and Gorgug nods. Fabian looks down at the elven sheet, glimmering softly with orange energy. “I… I danced with a fire elemental.”

“That was pretty frickin’ cool,” Gorgug says, and takes the elven sheet from Fabian’s hands, draping it around his shoulders. They’re both badly burned, from the multiple times the both of them got set on fire throughout the past, what, five minutes? But Fabian’s eyes have a light and a shine to them that they were missing after everything that went down on Leviathan. “What was it like, kissing fire?”

“Really warm,” is Fabian’s reply. His eyes flicker down to Gorgug’s lips, just for a second, but a second is more than long enough for Gorgug to see. “Not bad for a second kiss, as second kisses go.”

“How would you feel about a third?” Gorgug asks, bringing a hand up to brush a line of soot and ash off of Fabian’s cheek. 

Fabian’s answer is to pull Gorgug down for a kiss, passionate and fiery and messy in the way that last kiss hadn’t been. “I,” Fabian says when they pull apart, breathless from the battle and the kiss, “have been wanting to do that for _so_ long, you have no fucking _idea_ —”

“I think I have some kind of idea,” Gorgug says softly, pulling him back in for another kiss, this one softer, sweeter, lingering. 

A loud, ringing _boom_ sounds from the direction of Calethriel tower, and all three of them turn towards the exit of the pylon. “We can— we’ll talk about this later, yeah?” Fabian says, a hint of that same fear and insecurity slipping into his voice.

“Yeah,” Gorgug says, and they run out of the pylon, all three of them, (not before Riz gets his kisses in, though, pressing a quick kiss against Gorgug’s cheek before leaping away to run through the forests of Fallinel) always going onwards and upwards, hearts full for the first time in a long while.

**Author's Note:**

> so this monster of a fic entered my brain after the thistlegak and thistlecaster renaissance (looking at you, users nonbinarywithaknife and 22hildaboulevard on Tumblr) and physically would not let me go until i finished it. usually at the hours of 1 - 3 am. special thanks to the d20 fan server for keeping me sane as i wrote this!
> 
> anyways ! gorgug in polyships is good. gorgug getting affection is Especially good. kudos and comments make my day!


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